The Greatest Christmas Gift
by Kristen3
Summary: On Christmas morning, Rob and Laura both give each other tickets for the same night. Who will be selfless enough to give up what they want? One-shot.


Richie ran into the living room. "Wow," he exclaimed as he saw the tree and the many presents around it. "Santa came last night, huh, Dad?"

"Yeah, Rich, he did," Rob replied, sneaking a glance at Laura. She could tell he was trying not to give anything away. Laura, in turn, tried to hide her smile. She watched as her son ran toward the tree. He went straight for the bike that stood there.

Richie examined the bike in disbelief. He'd asked Santa for a bike, but he hadn't given any specifics. Still, this was the _exact_ one he'd seen in the store. He wondered how Santa could've known. "I guess Santa read my list," he said to himself.

"Uh, I guess so," Rob agreed. "The elves are pretty good about that stuff, I'm sure."

"Yeah, but this is the bike we saw in the store, remember, Dad?"

Once again, Rob had to hide a smile. "Yeah, I was there. I remember."

"But how did Santa know?"

Laura saw that Rob was biting his tongue. "You know how, Richie. The song says _He sees you when you're sleeping, he knows when you're awake_."

"Oh, yeah, I forgot." Just then, Richie realized there were other presents here with his name on them. Without waiting for permission from his parents, he went to the tree and picked up a present that had his name on it.

Laura watched as her son tore the wrapping paper off. She knew she should tell him not to open presents without asking, but he was clearly excited. This was a moment she would remember forever. Yet another reminder of why she was so glad she'd married Rob all those years ago.

"Oh, wow, a new baseball mitt!" Richie put the glove on, pretending to catch baseballs. "Wait till I tell Freddie!"

"We know you're excited, Rich, but how about letting your mom open one now, OK?"

For a moment, their son was disappointed, but it didn't appear to last. "OK."

Rob reached under the tree, where he found an envelope. "Open this one," he said, handing it to Laura.

She looked at it, wondering what it could be. She was grateful it wasn't more jewelry. She had enough of that to last a lifetime. She looked at Rob, hoping he would offer a clue. But all he did was nudge her to open it. In a minute, she had it opened. "Oh, Rob!" She gasped in disbelief. "Tickets to the ballet? In the city?"

Rob nodded. "Yeah. Buddy said he saw a sign or something, and I know how much you love that stuff." He shrugged.

"But we'll have to get a sitter. And you hate going to things like this!"

"That's true, but it so happens that I love_ you_." He kissed her for a long moment.

Even as thrilled as he was with his new mitt, Richie couldn't resist a gagging noise. He hated when his parents got like this.

Laura couldn't stop smiling if she wanted to. She looked again at the tickets. The seats were almost in the front row. "These must've cost a fortune!" Once again, Rob shrugged. The cost didn't matter to him. But then Laura noticed something else. "Oh, Rob, we can't use these!"

"Why not, honey?"

Instead of answering, Laura took another small envelope out from under the tree. "Open this," she said, handing it to her husband.

"Well, OK,"Rob said, laughing. He wondered what it could be. But a moment later, he saw. "Oh, wow!" It was another pair of tickets, this one for a comedy show. "Honey, you must be psychic!" He couldn't resist kissing her again. "Alan's been talking about this guy non-stop. He's been trying to get him to do our show for weeks!"

"Really?" Laura asked in surprise. She'd had no idea. All she knew was that her comedy-writer husband would probably love it.

"Yeah!" He could imagine the ribbing he was sure to get from Buddy. He would never believe this was a coincidence. "I don't even know what to say, except thank you!"

"Well, don't thank me yet," she said. "Look." She pointed to the date of the show.

Rob's face fell. He loved Laura more than he could say. That she'd done something like this for him, not even knowing about Alan's frustration, was more than he could've imagined. "I'm sure it would've been a fun evening," he finally said.

"Darling, we can still go. There'll be other ballets."

"Oh, honey, no. I know how much you love the ballet. It's OK. Really."

Laura kissed him, this time. She smiled at his expression. Sometimes he still couldn't seem to believe she really loved him. "I do love the ballet," Laura admitted. Before Rob, dance had been her first love. Still, it was a part of her past. It had nothing to do with her life now. "But I don't really _need_ to see it. If we go see that comic, maybe you can find a way to get him to talk to Alan or something."

"Really?" Rob still wasn't sure she was serious. He'd thought she wouldn't pass up the ballet for anything.

"Yes, Rob. Really." To prove she meant it, she kissed him for a long moment.

As the kiss ended, Rob almost wanted to pinch himself. How did he ever get this lucky? He had a wife he loved more than life itself. That would be enough for almost anyone. But that wasn't all he had. There was also a little boy who was now begging to open more of his presents. Rob saw Laura give in. Christmas morning had barely begun, but Rob was sure he had already been given the greatest gift of all. And maybe, just maybe, it would work out for Alan Brady as well.

**The End**


End file.
